The present invention relates generally to lighting control devices and in particular to a programmable lighting control interface.
A wide variety of manual light switches are currently commercially available, such the familiar forms of the common toggle light switch, push button switches, and keyboard switches, amongst others. The majority of such switches employ a mechanical contact that xe2x80x9cmakesxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cbreaksxe2x80x9d the circuit to be switched as the switch is moved to a closed or an open condition. Mechanical switches have many well known disadvantages, including susceptibility to wear, fatigue and loosening as well as the danger of electrical arcing, A common solution used to achieve a xe2x80x9czero force touchxe2x80x9d switch has been to make use of the capacitance of the human user and are known as capacitive touch switches. While the structures of such switches has varied substantially, most include a touch sensor responsive to the capacitance of a touching hand or finger which is sensed and used to control a power device which in turn is used to couple the main power source such as a conventional AC power connection to the lighting system. An example of this kind of switch is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,235,217 to Kirton which discloses a capacitive touch switch that couples the capacitance of the user into a variable oscillator circuit that outputs a signal having a frequency that varies with the capacitance seen at a touch terminal.
One problem that has arisen from the use of such conventionally available manual and capacitive touch switches is that once installed within a lighting system, it is difficult to vary or add additional controls for additional ballasts or lamps without incurring the expense of installing additional cumbersome switches. Also, there has been increased demand for specialized lighting controls (such as the well-known Scene/Zone lighting schemes used in hotels lobbies and retail displays, etc.) Individual switching devices are not well suited for these purposes and they are not easily integrated with each other and/or with central lighting controlling computers for high level control of lighting environments.
Lighting control systems which are specifically directed to Scene/Zone lighting applications are commercially available. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,924,151 to D""Aleo et al. describes a multi-zone, multi-scene lighting control system that controls power to multiple groups of lights and permits power to each group of lights to be adjusted independently and, at the same time, to be stored for later recall. However, this lighting control device contains manual moving parts which are subject to wear, contains relatively expensive components, is not easily retro-fittable within existing lighting installations and is relatively cumbersome to operate.
Thus, there is a need for a lighting control interface which can provide a high level of flexibility and customizability for a particular lighting installation, which can be easily retrofitted into existing lighting installations, and which can be manufactured easily and inexpensively.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved lighting control interface.
In one aspect, the present invention provides a lighting control interface comprising:
(a) a touch pad matrix containing a plurality of touch pads;
(b) a programmable device coupled to said touch pad matrix such that said programmable device can be programmed to ascribe a first set and a second set of functions to said touch pads, said first and second sets of functions being different from each other; and
(c) said touch pad matrix being capable of receiving at least two different faceplates, one of said faceplates containing a first unique arrangement of graphics that correspond to said first set of functions and another of said faceplates containing a second unique arrangement of graphics that correspond to said second set of functions.
In another aspect, the present invention provides a method of configuring a lighting control interface having a plurality of touch pads coupled to a programmable device, said programmable device being capable of being programmed to ascribe a first set and a second set of functions to said touch pads, said first set and second set of functions being different from each other, said method comprising the steps of:
(a) programming the programmable device to ascribe one of said first set and second set of functions to said touch pads;
(b) creating a first faceplate with a first unique arrangement of graphics corresponding to said one set of functions; and
(c) attaching said faceplate over said plurality of touch pads.
Further objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description, taken together with the accompanying drawings.